In the United States and elsewhere, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)-based systems are being designed and developed for operation in licensed bands, such as 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz etc. However, depending on the country and the specific band, it is likely the spectrum will be subject to licensing in only densely populated areas (urban or suburban environments). In rural areas, a licensing regime may not be attractive to offer a viable business case for potential WiMAX operators due to the cost of licensing spectrum and limited potential revenues from a sparse population of users. In some countries, the spectrum available for broadband wireless may be limited and insufficient to grant licenses to the many potential operators aspiring to offer service. Countries eager to enable operators to provide wireless communication service to their population are in the process of making spectrum available for use on an unlicensed basis. Thus, situations in which multiple operators would compete to provide service using the same unlicensed spectrum are both foreseeable and actually being encouraged.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that enables multiple communication networks to share in a dynamic manner unlicensed wireless resources.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed below with reference to FIGS. 1-6. Both the description and the illustrations have been drafted with the intent to enhance understanding. For example, the dimensions of some of the figure elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements, and well-known elements that are beneficial or even necessary to a commercially successful implementation may not be depicted so that a less obstructed and a more clear presentation of embodiments may be achieved. In addition, although the signaling flow diagrams above are described and shown with reference to specific signaling exchanged in a specific order, some of the signaling may be omitted or some of the signaling may be combined, sub-divided, or reordered without departing from the scope of the claims. Thus, unless specifically indicated, the order and grouping of the signaling depicted is not a limitation of other embodiments that may lie within the scope of the claims.
Simplicity and clarity in both illustration and description are sought to effectively enable a person of skill in the art to make, use, and best practice the present invention in view of what is already known in the art. One of skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific embodiments described below without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive or all-encompassing, and all such modifications to the specific embodiments described below are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.